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1. The Hill House
High on a hill in Helensburgh, overlooking the River Clyde, sits what is universally regarded as Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s finest domestic creation. The
Hill House is a visually arresting mix of Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Scottish Baronial and Japonisme architecture and design. Mackintosh designed nearly
everything inside the Hill House too, from the decorative schemes and the furniture to the fittings and contents.
His wife, Margaret Macdonald, designed and made many of the textiles as well as a beautiful fireplace panel.
Much of the house has been restored so it looks almost exactly as it did in 1904 when its first residents, Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie and his family,
moved in. The beautiful, formal gardens have also been restored in line with the early designs, using plants that would have been available at the time.
Did you know?
There's a stainless steel kinetic sculpture in the garden by George Rickey, entitled Five Open Rectangles.
What to see & do
Many of the rooms in the Hill House look just as they did back in 1904, thanks to extensive restoration and maintenance. Mackintosh’s trademark motifs –
cut-out squares, strong vertical lines, female forms, the ‘Glasgow rose’ – are everywhere you look, in the furniture, the fittings and the fabrics. It’s clear that
everything has been carefully considered down to the smallest detail, so each room warrants a close inspection in case you miss something.
Some rooms have strong masculine tones and themes, such as the library and the dining room, with their dark wood and straight lines. In others, Margaret
Macdonald’s feminine influence is evident: the light, bright main bedroom contains a stunning white carved bed, silk hangings embroidered with elongated
female forms and rose-coloured glass panels. While in the drawing room you can see her beautiful ‘sleeping princess’ gesso panel above the fireplace.
You can find out more about the life and work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald in the exhibition rooms upstairs and from the
information cards and friendly volunteers in each room.
Round off your visit with a browse in the two shops – one sells contemporary jewellery and glass, the other sells Mackintosh-related goods and books. Enjoy
some refreshments in the small tearoom, before taking a wander round the formal gardens, which have been restored in line with some of the early designs.
Did you know?
The Glasgow Herald Building that Mackintosh designed now houses The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture.
Opening times
Hidden History
Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie commissioned Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1902 to design and build the Hill House. At this point, Mackintosh was
already well established. He’d designed and worked on, among others, the Glasgow Herald Building, Glasgow School of Art, Miss Cranston’s Tea Rooms
and Queen’s Cross Church. He was also well known as one of the so-called ‘Glasgow Four’, along with his wife Margaret Macdonald, Margaret’s sister
Frances, and her husband Herbert McNair.
Blackie agreed that Mackintosh could design every aspect of the house, including the furniture for four main areas – hall, drawing room, main bedroom and
library – some of which can still be seen in the house today. The other rooms would be furnished with items brought from the Blackies’ previous home and
included their dining room furniture.
By 1904, the house was finished and the Blackies moved in. When Mackintosh handed over the keys, he reportedly said to them: ‘Here is the house. It is not
an Italian Villa, an English Mansion House, a Swiss Chalet, or a Scotch Castle. It is a Dwelling House.’
Did you know?
There are incredible views from the hill top site over looking the River Clyde
Art Exhibition - From Garden to Garment
The Hill House
Sat 6 Jul - Sun 1 Sep
An exhibition by textile artist Sofia Perina-Miller.
A new exhibition of work inspired by the Hill House Garden.